Getting through tough times

I have experienced tragedy in my life more than once. It is not easy to cope with it. I have found that turning my burdens over to the Lord is the only way I can make it through hard times. You might say that it is easier said than done, and I would respond that you are correct. I would say too though that nothing is going to be easy when dealing with tragedy. It is far more difficult to go it alone however. I have tried it both ways…

So how should one turn over their burden to the Lord? It begins with prayer. Not just a quick whisper, but the kind of prayer whereby one gets down on their knees and spends some time petitioning the Lord. I ask God to give me understanding to the degree that I might know it. If I cannot achieve understanding I pray for acceptance and peace. I ask God to strengthen my faith in Him and His goodness and His love.

I combine prayer with reading the Bible. I try to find passages that deal with tragedy and how others have dealt with it including Jesus Christ Himself. Did you know that Jesus shed tears when He heard that Lazarus died? This in spite of the fact that He knew He would raise him from the dead? Tragedy began with sin in the Garden of Eden; Cain and Able were the first examples. Every generation has had to deal with it since. Those who were successful in dealing with tragedy, like King David, did not turn against God, but rather they drew close to God.
Although this did not do away with the tragedy, it did make it bearable.

Drawing close to God means we should look at our own lives and straighten out any curves we know exist. We should be attending church and we should be concentrating on being the best we know how to be. We should concentrate on the future and not the past. Tragic events take time to forget. Spend that time with God doing God’s work and the peace that surpasses understanding that can only come from God will blanket you with its warm presence.

Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden on the Lord,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the
righteous to be moved.